Most small business owners are focused on management improvements and online marketing. Sometimes social media channels fall by the wayside when you’re wearing so many hats. Did you know that 366 million new people started using social media in 2018? For 2019, the predictions revolve around half a billion new users.
If statistics like these don’t catch your interest, it’s high time you realized the importance of social networks and the marketing potential they possess. Social networks have become much more than a place to connect – they have turned into a hybrid market for all sorts of products. If you want your business to grow consistently, you need to invest efforts into upping your social media marketing game.
Starting a social media strategy can seem daunting at first. Use these 8 tips to enhance your strategies and effectively marketing your business.
1. Pick the right platform
Even though all social media sites can be used as a marketing platform, each has its own different set of rules. Here are some basic pointers that you can use for better targeting.
- Facebook is mostly for engaging customers and more aggressive PPC campaigns with specific targeting.
- Instagram can make your brand feel more “human,” using visual tools and other forms of multimedia engagement.
- LinkedIn is ideal for B2B marketing. Use it to find collaborators and associates.
- Twitter is meant for quick updates and strategies that lead followers to your site.
- YouTube may not be a social network per se, but it’s developed in that direction in the last few years. Use it for video engagement.
2. Create a content calendar
Nothing good comes out of scraping up posts in the last possible second. It leads to mistakes, lackluster engagement and overall bad results. Sit down with your team and plan an effective content calendar. It can also be a great way to engage employees who might have an interest in social media marketing to learn new skills and take some of he burden off you.
Plan seasonal campaigns and do effective research to make sure your posts get the most likes/shares/retweets. With social media calendars, you can automate your content creation and focus on other, more important things. The sooner your plan something, the lesser the chances of failure.
3. Encourage interaction
Just because your goal is to sell and promote your business doesn’t mean you have to be formal. You will gain more followers and customers if you interact with people. Respond to comments, encourage criticism and always be polite and ready to have fun.
If your target audience is mainly comprised of young people, you can use gifs, emojis and other more modern forms of expression. Use a social media manager like Social Sprout or Hootsuite to fuse all your social media accounts into one platform and use them for effective responses and faster interaction. The sooner you respond, the happier your customers will be.
4. Outsource what you can’t accomplish on your own
Surely, there are times where you’re short on time but have to accomplish a lot. In these cases, don’t give up or post subpar content. The key to maintaining a consistent content strategy is outsourcing blog posts and articles via online assignment help tools like Academized reviews.
- Plan effectively for the future and don’t hesitate to write down ideas
- Think of a package and be communicative when talking to your writer
- Ask for constant briefs to make sure everything is going well
- You can even pick the time in which you need the content with some services, which gives you a lot of room to operate
5. Make sure your content is informative
Inexperienced marketers often fall into the trap of over-promoting their business on social networks. The keyword here is social network. You have to promote your brand naturally and use educational and informative resources to attract new followers and retain others.
A big advantage of informative content is that people will know how to use your products and services with the knowledge they’ve just received. Not only are they knowledgeable enough, but they will also feel gratitude because you’ve shown them something useful and interesting.
6. Rely on video content
No matter how brilliant your ideas are, there comes a time where people just don’t want to read. It requires a lot of attention, which is why you should make use of videos. What are the benefits of video for social media marketing (SMM)?
- SMM requires a competitive “stance” and quick delivery of information. Videos can educate users with engaging visuals and interesting information.
- You can put a lot of information in one video. Why make a 5.000-word blog post when you can put all that information in a 3-5-minute video?
- Videos cause reactions and result in narratives. Create engaging videos to drive narratives.
7. Take care of problems quickly
In most cases, you will receive positive feedback on social media. However, there will be an occasional customer who is willing to argue or is upset about something. Don’t escalate the situation and act immediately.
A good way to counter these kinds of complaints is to monitor social media mentions of your brand and curb problems before they appear. Of course, this won’t be possible all the time. Quick responses are a great way to show people that you truly care and that you don’t want the problem to happen again.
8. Have branding elements wherever you can
One way to become memorable and to effectively market your business is to establish a brand presence. Have a distinct colorway and logo that you can insert in all your content, including your website. As follower start to see more of your branding elements, these ideas will soon become your trademark and a ticket to success.
There is nothing better than effective branding across all channels. Make sure all your platforms are synchronized using the same brand establishment effort.
Concluding thoughts
Use these methods to engage with your audience and accomplish any goals that you have set for yourself. By picking the right platforms, you ensure the effectiveness of your targeting. Create content calendars and don’t be afraid to outsource content for better performance. Above all else, engage your customers and strive to seem more human when talking to them. Craft your content plan around these tips and you will succeed. Good luck!
This article was contributed by Sharon Hooper. Sharon is marketing specialist and blogger from Manchester, UK. When she has a minute, she loves to share her thoughts about marketing, writing and blogging. Currently, she is working as a marketer at UK Assignment Holic. You can follow Sharon on Facebook.